Wednesday, 1 May 2013

ANOTHER GENESIS

La
Seconda Genesi came from Canino, a small town in the province of
Viterbo, and was one of the many Italian progressive rock “one-shot
bands” of the seventies. The leader of the band was guitarist
Paride De Carli, who, along with drummer Sandro Leoni, from 1963 to
1969 had been playing in clubs and on cruise ships. From 1969 to 1971
Paride De Carli spent two years in the Bahamas Islands playing with a
local multi-ethnic band and when back in Italy he released an album
with a band called Paride e gli Stereo 4, “Naufrago in città”,
on the independent label Picci Records. In 1972 he joined again with
Sandro Leoni and with Nazzareno Spaccia (bass), Giambattista Bonavera
(sax, flute) and Alberto Rocchetti (lead vocals and keyboards) formed
La Seconda Genesi. The band released only one album, “Tutto deve
finire”, also on Picci Records, before split up. In that period
progressive rock was very popular in Italy and “Tutto deve finire”
is just one of the many Italian albums in that vein, with the
musicians trying to blend many influences, from jazz and avant-garde
to hard rock and classical music.

“Tutto
deve finire” (Everything must end) is a concept album featuring
lyrics by the producer Giuseppe Cassia dealing with religious issues
such as the faith in God and the awareness that everything is bound
to come to an end except your soul. The instrumental opener
“Ascoltarsi nascere” (Listening to our own birth), is an
experimental piece where the band, with the sound of the sax in the
forefront, try to blend jazz and avant-garde with rock. The following
“L’urlo” (The scream) is another instrumental, a jazz-rock
track featuring a great saxophone work. It ends with a short organ
solo that marks a change in mood and atmosphere.

Next
comes “Se ne va con noi” (It goes away with us), with a
“sinister” drum and organ intro, a piece closer to the gloomy
mood of Il Balletto di Bronzo’s “Ys” than to Weather Report. On
this track the voice of Alberto Rocchetti reminds me slightly of
Gianni Leone... “Life dies with us / With a lament life goes away /
It goes, goes, goes away with us / The wind blows in the sky but the
sun can’t rise / Around us the air is going to die too / And people
don’t know when to set off / And people don’t know where to
go...”. A good track although in my opinion it's not at the same
level of “Ys”!

“Vedo
un altro mondo” (I see another world) features hard rock guitar,
flute “à la Jethro Tull”, a short vocal part that reminds me
slightly of New Trolls (though not with the same amazing harmony
vocals), a drum and organ passage, then a hard rock guitar part...
“I see another world / Man, who are you? / If you'll understand /
You’ll come to life again...”.

“Dimmi
Padre” (Tell me Father) in my opinion is the best track on this
album. It’s the more complex piece on the album and the band try to
blend classical influences and hard rock. You can find here echoes of
Osanna, Delirium, Le Orme and New Trolls – or, if you prefer, of
Jethro Tull, especially because of the flute... “Tell me Father /
Why do you not wonder any more about what you’re doing? / You have
been starving all along your life / Your faith is great but you will
not help your people / It doesn’t matter, my father / Anyhow
there’s always God...”. Dramatic vocals soar over a melting pot
of different influences...

The
following “Breve dialogo” (Short dialogue) is a short
instrumental with a good interaction between classical guitar and
organ. It leads to “Giovane uomo” (Young man), a track closer to
hard rock that recalls Osanna’s first album. Next comes
“Un'infanzia mai vissuta” (A never lived childhood), a quiet
instrumental piece built upon a classical guitar arpeggio.

The
album was re-released by Akarma Records in 2002 along with the
previous album of the guitarist Paride De Carli with the “Stereo
4”, “Naufrago in città” (two albums on one CD). “Naufrago in
città” is a completely instrumental album with most of the tracks
built upon classical guitar patterns with flute and organ drawing
calm, dreamy melodies.

Well,
on the whole “Tutto deve finire” might not be considered an
outstanding album but I think it's really worth listening to. Bye
the way, the original vinyl version of this album is extremely rare
and precious for “vinyl collectors” because of the particular art
cover featuring random jets of colour (actually, there’s a
different album cover for each one of the first 200 vinyl copies).